A Red Poppy for the Lady in Red

Red poppies were sold again today as part of Remembrance Day that is to be held on the 11th of November. World War I ended on this day in 1918 and every year across Australia people observe a minute silence to remember the more than 60 000 Australian men and women who died as a result of the war. It also goes beyond World War I and serves to remind us of all the Australians who served in other wars, past and present.

Red poppies have become synonymous with, and a symbol of the Returned & Services League (RSL). It was inspired by the red poppies in the fields of Flanders, as written about by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in his poem, In Flanders Fields.

In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders’ fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders’ fields.